Implementing Kotlin: Bringing Android Development Into the Future
In 2010, people would have rather imagined an alternative to Java when there was no Kotlin development. They held Java to the highest accord. This phase was changing dynamically with the arrival of the Kotlin programming language. Kotlin is a static, general-purpose programming language. It was developed and introduced by JetBrains in 2011, the tech giant behind building world-class IDEs such as IntelliJ IDEA, App code and PhpStorm. Kotlin for Android development is known to be an object-oriented language. This was a better choice for Java and was interoperable with it.
What’s more about Kotlin? It is being sponsored by Google. Google took a step further and announced Kotlin programming language as one of the official languages for Android Development during 2017. According to Stackshare, over 607 companies are known to use Kotlin development.
Why did Kotlin programming language come into the picture?
Even though Kotlin for android developers was first released in 2011, the history of the language would move towards 2010. A group of smart brains in JetBrains at Czech republic were contemplating replacing Java with another efficient solution. The team didn’t create Kotlin to sell it to their peers. They were looking on to solve their own problems with development. The name of Kotlin comes directly from Kotlin Island near St. Petersburg, Russia.
Since 70% of the products were built using Java and the majority of the rest were written in Microsoft’s C#, JetBrains was getting annoyed by the outdated ways of Java. Java is meant to write a lot of code that other languages can handle instantly. It would require more code and less productivity. A simple “Hello World” program would itself consume 3 lines.
The repetitive work gets monotonous with more work. The verbose part of the code would lead to a lot of errors. Since many of the applications were already using Java, rewriting it in any other language would not be simple. All they needed was a language with similar compatibility as Java and avoid rewriting the code from the beginning. In the meantime, another language, Scala, was getting the audience attention. It was being used on Twitter. It was a more powerful language with its own set of flaws.
Hence JetBrains team gathered their own army and set on to build their own programming language compatible with Java. JetBrains decided to open-source the project instead of internalizing it. JetBrains benefitted from giving more to the community for free with more improvements and feedback.
When the company released a preview version of the language, they found out that many other people were looking for the same set of features. Jake Wharton, an Android engineer at Square, noted: “Once you start using the language you can tell it was built by someone who spent a lot of time programming in Java.”
What made Kotlin a hit?
The biggest success point of Kotlin programming language lies in its mix and match feature with Java. It was more than what companies could have expected with a large amount of Java code, in a simplified fashion. The application of Kotlin tends to extend beyond the plateau of the Google platform. Similar to Java, you can use Kotlin to write different apps running on servers and desktops. JetBrains has gone on to release different tools for running the code on iOS. In the upcoming years, you are going to find more of Kotlin in your mobile apps. This would enchant more audiences along with developers.
What are the companies using the Kotlin programming language?
Since Kotlin has become more and more well-liked as a programming language in recent years, numerous businesses from a wide range of industries have adopted it.
Many forward-thinking companies have adopted Kotlin as their preferred language for app development, from big behemoths to creative startups.As a result of Kotlin’s advantages in terms of productivity, code dependability, and easy integration with pre-existing Java codebases, well-known firms like Google, Pinterest, Airbnb, and Trello have adopted it into their tech stacks. These market leaders have used Kotlin to create apps that are reliable, scalable, and performant and provide top-notch user experiences.
Additionally, Kotlin is popular outside of the major IT companies. Many startups and small businesses have also picked up on Kotlin’s benefits and quickly adopted it for their app development requirements. It has been a top choice for businesses of all sizes because of its clear syntax, null safety features, and robust compatibility with Java. This enables them to quickly produce innovative, high-quality applications.
What are the Java issues that Kotlin addresses?
Kotlin is a modern, powerful language with many features. There is no second question to it. This language is more expressive and concise than Java. If Java is known for its reliability, it is known to lack more features, making it obsolete. The best way is to replace it with Kotlin. Kotlin is noted for its striking 
similarity with Apple Swift. The ideologies and goals are almost similar. The Android and iOS developers can switch well between each platform development. Kotlin also supports more advancements technologically. It offers you with first-class support meant specially for functional programming. Though object-oriented in approach, this language would open more doors for programmers. JetBrains have built more protections against different errors in relation to nulls. This goes on to make the language more robust, easier and cheaper in maintenance compared to Java. Kotlin does not support null reference. And voila! You have at last got rid of this clumsy stuff that led to more errors, system crashes and vulnerabilities. Kotlin is the best option for JVM development facilitating web, desktop, as well as backend server applications with well-known Java frameworks like Vaadin, Spring, Hadoop and Spark.
With Kotlin, you would be able to build more statically-typed front-end browser apps using Kotlin to JavaScript compiler. With this, you can easily create Node.js applications with the support of Kotlin.
Kotlin is still known to be under heavier development phase. We can expect that it would improve in a due course. Kotlin for android development also allows developers to build applications for Windows, Linux or macOS.
What are the advantages of using Kotlin for your business?
Do you know? Kotlin development for android developers can cut across 40% of the lines of codes. By using Kotlin for Android app development, mobile developers came across a number 
of benefits. Kotlin has a lot of advantages to take care of your business needs. You need to make it a point to support your developer if you want to build the best ever application. As a Kotlin developer, you need to understand the importance of improving your team efficiency, complying with the existing Java code, taking care of the simple maintenance issues, paving way to error-free work, interrupting your business needs and understanding what you need to do. If you are doing it, you are going to find it extremely useful. Your business is going to have a good value in the market. You need to ensure that everything is on its place without leaving any stones unturned. If you are planning to use Kotlin for your business, you can rely on the best team rather than relying upon random team members. This is going to have a direct impact on your business in the upcoming days. Here are a few benefits of using Kotlin for Android development for businesses:
Increase your team efficiency
This language is more clear and compact. This would increase your team efficiency owing to its intuitive syntax and code. You can save more work since the process will get over in less time. This would allow your business to focus more on business points.
Complies with existing Java code
Have you built your mobile application using Java? No problem. Kotlin is 100% interoperable with Java programming language in terms of tools and frameworks. This way, you can switch over to Kotlin slowly. Both Kotlin and Java can work hand-in-hand.
Simple maintenance
Kotlin supports a number of IDEs. This includes the Android Studio with other SDK tools. This would increase the productivity of the developers. They can keep working on the toolkit that they are familiar with.
Fewer errors, less stress!
Kotlin for android developers would offer you with a neat codebase. This would make the code more consistent and robust. You can detect the bugs in compile-time, thus allowing developers to fix any errors before their runtime.
More features, fewer codes
Kotlin development offers you a lot more features than Java. With the less number of codes, you are going to build applications that would win the test of times. This would allow your business to focus more on R&D and UI/UX aspects of the mobile app, thus winning hearts with your audience.
Will Kotlin replace Java?
Have you watched the film “The Artist?” No, Kotlin is not going to replace Java the way sound film replaced silent film. It is going to collaborate with Java, the same way Peppy joined hands with George to help him regain his stardom in the film.
Our team at Pattem Digital predicts that it is not going to happen any time soon. Java is a core programming language whereas Kotlin is only for Android. Still, many apps are using Java in real-time. Let’s wait and watch what the future holds in store for Kotlin. If Kotlin can diverge from the android app development platform and spread its wings across other domains, then it can replace any other programming language on its way. Your Android Development solution provider should help you with that.
Unlock Kotlin’s Full Potential with Pattem Digital,
The importance of choosing the best development team cannot be overstated in the context of Kotlin’s bright future. At Pattem Digital, we promise to create great Kotlin apps that are suited to your needs. We take pleasure in being one of the best Kotlin development companies in India since we can integrate your business strategies with specialized app development knowledge. We are a dedicated group of seasoned specialists who enthusiastically use the most recent technologies. We go above and beyond to make certain that all of your criteria are flawlessly met, from documentation through maintenance. Let us know if you are confident in our potential. We would be happier to support your endeavors as your Android development solution provider.
